Internship introduces aspiring author Rachel Ruffner '23 to a different kind of storytelling

Rachel Ruffner '23 is a storyteller at heart. She loves how a well-crafted piece of writing can transport readers to a completely different world. She gets lost in the dark, and at times, the chilling words of Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King-two of her favorite authors- take her to the dreary chamber in "The Raven" and to Derry, Maine, the setting of "It."

Since Ruffner was in elementary school, she enjoyed writing fanfiction for her friends. Today, when she considers the stories she might want to write from scratch, she's brought back to the styles of Poe and King.

Ruffner, an English major with a writing concentration and Japanese minor at Gettysburg College, who also works at the Writing Center, said she's still discovering her voice and gaining experience through her personal and academic endeavors with writing, including her recent internship with local news website Gettysburg Connection. However, in the future, she sees herself working toward writing a gothic romance novel.

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